Under the direction of Dr. Kenneth Sassaman, Neill Wallis will investigate patterns of interaction among Woodland period (ca. 3000-1000 BP) populations on the Atlantic coast of Florida and Georgia. Sites in this region provide material evidence of consistent social contact across a variety of distances. The most ubiquitous data come from Swift Creek earthenware vessels, a type of pottery involved in interactions across much of the Eastern Woodlands. Mr. Wallis' analysis of pottery assemblages from 13 sites seeks to understand the frequency, locations, and directions of exchange and other interactions through a combination of technological, functional, and clay source data. Ultimately, this research aims to determine what kinds of interaction Atlantic coastal populations engaged in and how these social connections shaped local social structure and practice. Anthropological research has often emphasized that interaction among populations is central to the development of local societies and cultures. Archaeological investigations of interaction often emphasize the widespread exchange of socially-restricted ritual paraphernalia and prestige goods. The absence of these items, however, often makes it difficult to identify the kinds of interactions that took place and how these connections influenced the lives of local people. A unique opportunity to study interaction comes from Swift Creek complicated stamped pottery that was produced and circulated throughout the lower Southeast (Alabama, Georgia, and Florida) for nearly a millennium (ca. cal AD 100 to 900). Archaeologists have demonstrated that Swift Creek earthenware vessels and the carved wooden paddles used to decorate them were distributed in patterns independent of prestige goods. To determine precisely what type of interaction was responsible for the distribution of Swift Creek pottery on the Atlantic coast, Mr. Wallis will use two complimentary methods to analyze assemblages from both burial mounds and village middens that may each correspond with different forms of interaction. First, Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis (INAA) and petrographic analysis of clay samples and pottery will be used to differentiate between local and foreign-made vessels at sites. Second, technofunctional analysis of pottery at each site will document site-specific trends in the manufacture, use, and deposition of vessels that could be related to exchange and interaction. Taken together, these data will be used to evaluate various models of interaction across the region. This research will contribute to anthropological understanding of the patterns and purposes of interaction among small-scale societies. The research is especially important in documenting heightened levels of exchange and interaction independent of obviously socially restricted items that are a common focus of archaeological study. The project has many broader impacts as well. Mr. Wallis will receive specialized training in Instrumental Neutron Activation Analysis. Moreover, the research is inter-institutional in nature, drawing on nine institutions for artifact collections and training. The results of analysis will be presented in a poster displayed at each of the lending institutions as well as a companion website. Lastly, important data will be recovered from vulnerable collections excavated during many salvage and private contract archaeology projects.
